When comparing Downcast vs Plex, the Slant community recommends Plex for most people. In the question“What are the most useful Android phone apps?”Plex is ranked 12th while Downcast is ranked 26th. The most important reason people chose Plex is:

Pros

Pro

Auto-downloads podcasts

Downcast can be set to automatically download new episodes of podcasts in the background.

Pro

Straightforward discovery system with feed support

This app helps users subscribe to podcasts through browsing top lists and categories as well as entering a feed or OPML address.

Pro

Simple to use UI

Downcast has a straightforward, intuitive user interface.

Pro

Mac App available

Pro

Can stream episodes without downloading

Pro

Sync between iOS devices

Downcast can synchronize podcasts and settings across iOS devices through iCloud.

Pro

Can prioritize playlists

You can have Downcast prioritize your playlists automatically, allowing you to listen to podcasts in the order your prefer without you having to manually reorganize them.

Pro

Set how long you wish to keep your podcasts locally

Downcast can be set to automatically remove podcasts that have been on your device for a certain amount of time or take up a certain amount of space on your device. This can be done to groups of podcasts or on a per podcast basis.

Pro

Adjustable playback speed

You can change the playback speed to fit your needs up to 3x the speed.

Pro

Sleep timer

You can set Downcast to shut off podcasts after a set amount of time.

Pro

AirPlay support

Pro

Adjustable skip interval

Pro

Prioritizes show notes

Selecting a podcast for playback will bring up shownotes, instead of the more common choice of album art.

Pro

Supports password-protected feeds

Pro

Gesture shortcuts

Downcast supports multi-touch gestures for navigating around.

Pro

Accesses iTunes podcast library

Pro

Supported on many devices

It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.

Pro

Added lots of media databases

Metadata for media files will automatically be updated by using media databases. This provides posters, movie trailers, descriptions, information about actors, etc.

Pro

Accessible via web browser

A modern web browser is enough to get everything Plex has to offer.

Cons

Con

Extremely buggy

Around mid-2015 Downcast implemented some code that started to leave infinite loop processes that have the potential to cause the phone to heat up, lag, crash Downcast, or crash other apps. The bugs have only continued to get worse. Go with Overcast or Pocket Casts, or even Podcatcher for the Downcast feel.

Con

Doesn't sync with iTunes

Con

No gapless audio-0layback

Plex still does not support gapless playback of audio files such as mp3 or FLAC.

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